SECRETS & LIES 7 (Secrets & Lies #7) - H.M. Ward Page 0,13

said. For the record, you don't want a girl asking you that.”

Josh barks out a laugh, and we head to his car. I blow off my last class of the day to see how I really feel about things. He opens my door, and I slip inside.

CHAPTER 8

Josh is unusually quiet. When we pull up in front of a posh hotel, I follow him inside as the valet takes his sporty car. Nerves bubble up from my stomach, and I don’t know what to do with my hands. I shove them in my pockets and look around the lobby. The expansive marble floors are dotted with large pillars stretching up to the top of the cavernous room. Ornate leaves and other foliage line the ceiling in skillfully carved Romanesque scrollwork, forming intricate designs. My heart thumps like a flat tire, and I swear it’s going to spring out of my chest and run away screaming. It’s not fear, but what is it?

I slip my gaze over Josh’s back, admiring the shape of his body, the way his broad shoulders meet with his trim waist and narrow hips. The curve of his ass is alluring, but the attractive part of Josh is more his personality than anything else. The guy runs on full power all the time, so when he’s demure, it unnerves me. Seriousness isn’t one of his qualities. A chill slips over me, making my skin prickle with goosebumps. I rub them away, thinking about what it will be like to be with Josh.

There’s an attraction between us. It's been there since day one, but I was serious when I said he wasn’t my type. Josh is loud, while I prefer quiet, shy guys. But if this man is the opposite of everything I want in a guy, why am I here? I swallow hard, thinking about the things I’ve done with Nate, the way my body melts into his. If I can do that with Josh, then the things I did with Nate were because of me. Maybe I found my sexual freedom with Nate. Or perhaps it’s more than that, and my ease with the professor has nothing to do with me and everything to do with him? What if I fell for him? Is this really the best way to tell?

Falling for Nate is the stupidest thing I could have possibly done. There’s no future there, no way we can have any kind of relationship. Since I never wanted to pair off and walk hand in hand into the sunset, I worry about it. Nate wants more from me, but when he finds out about Josh—that we did this—I’ve passed the point of no return.

It doesn’t matter anyway. Whatever is between Nate and me will vanish as soon as I get him to sign over his house. There’s no way to come back from that. Nate will regret that decision every day for the rest of his life. It wouldn’t surprise me if he took all that money to use against the fracking company.

Josh turns to me and tips his head to the side, indicating I should follow him. He holds a hand out for me, and I walk over to him, slipping my palm in his. My stomach fills with turbulent waves of emotion. It’s too complex for me to separate excitement from foreboding, so I don’t try.

Things are over with Nate. It was a fling, and Josh is the rebound. The truth of the situation is like a slap in the face. It’s startling, and no matter how much I want the memories with Nate not to matter, they're bittersweet.

Josh pulls me into a little elevator at the back corner of the lobby, up behind the reservation desk. I didn’t see it initially. When the door closes, he clears his throat and offers a nervous grin. “Private elevator.”

“Why is it private?” Before he can answer, the doors open into an opulent room stretching across the entire floor. A bank of windows overlooks the capital building and its domed roof. An enormous amount of pride went into the creation of that building, and any room with such a great view of it—and Ladybird Lake—has to cost a fortune. The other row of windows stretches floor-to-ceiling and faces the other way, showcasing the lazy flow of the river. My jaw is scraping on the floor when Josh presses a finger to my chin and shuts it.

“Gaping isn’t a becoming trait. I mean, I’d be okay with